The association between the parenting stress of the mother and the incidence of allergic rhinitis in their children

Abstract

Objectives: The prevalence of allergic rhinitis and the social burden related to the management of allergic rhinitis have persistently increased. There are many studies investigating the association between the allergic diseases of children and the stress of their parent. However, the relationship between parenting stress and the incidence of allergic rhinitis among children requires further investigation. We aimed to investigate the significance of parenting stress for mothers with children treated for allergic rhinitis.

Methods: The mothers of 250 children in the second and third grade of elementary school were involved in this study. The Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) was used to measure parenting stress. Additionally, the monthly household income, treatment history for allergic diseases (atopic dermatitis, asthma, and allergic rhinitis) during the past 12 months, and maternal education status were investigated using the questionnaire.

Results: Parenting stress index score was significantly higher among the mothers of children treated for allergic rhinitis (76.41 ± 9.35) compared with the parents of children without treatment history for allergic rhinitis (70.06 ± 13.74). Nonetheless, there were no significant differences between the cases of children with atopic dermatitis and those with asthma. We analyzed the association between allergic rhinitis and parenting stress adjusted for the monthly household income, and maternal education status, and showed that a treatment history of allergic rhinitis was significantly associated with parenting stress (coefficient 7.477, 95% interval 1.703-13.252; p = 0.011).

Conclusion: Treatment of the children for allergic rhinitis significantly affects the parenting stress of their mother. We recommend that mothers with children with allergic rhinitis should receive appropriate counseling about parenting stress.